Camelot pays out in Hotpicks name case

National Lottery operator Camelot has been forced to pay “millions of pounds” in damages in order to settle the long-running legal battle over its Hotpicks game with rival Inter Lotto, just days before the case was due in the High Court.

Inter Lotto says Camelot infringed its Hotpicks trademark with the launch of the National Lottery game of the same name in July 2002. The game generated over &£280m in sales in its first year. Charity lottery operator Inter Lotto has run a Hotspot/Hotpick lottery since 2001.

Inter Lotto asked for an injunction to prevent Camelot using the name, as well as the destruction of materials relating to the game and unspecified damages for restricting the growth of its own game.

The case was due to go to court this week, but a source close to the affair says Camelot has backed down and paid damages to settle the case with Inter Lotto. In exchange, Inter Lotto has allowed Camelot to continue using the Hotpicks name.

The decision means Camelot will keep its hugely successful game, which was launched as part of a strategy to revive public interest in the National Lottery. One insider says: “There have been major damages for Inter Lotto. I should think Camelot’s managers are as sick as parrots, although relieved it is over.”

A Camelot spokeswoman confirms that the two parties have made an “amicable agreement” in respect of their respective rights to use the Hotpick and Hotspot names.